26th Oct 2001, 13:23

Hey man, I was thinking about getting a 90 Z24 too. I see one right now for sale for 4000 dollars Canadian, and it's only got 108500 kilometres on it. I think it's a pretty good deal and I am gonna go for it! What do you think?

1990 Chevrolet Cavalier Base 2.0L TBI OHC from North America

Summary:

Great winter basher - slap on snows and let 'er rot!

Faults:

Head gasket blew at 78,000 miles, without any prior warning. Head warped as a result. These gaskets can go at any time on 4-cyl GM compacts, replace it as soon as you buy the car with any mileage or you have a big risk of getting stranded....

Had mysterious and intermittent stalling problems, only once in a while.

General Comments:

Drove a Nissan Sentra until I got carried away and wrecked it.

In comparison, the Cavalier felt a lot heavier, much less responsive, and rolled a whole hell of a lot. The steering is light.

Acceleration with the droning 2.0L/ 3-speed auto combo was very bad, expect Neon R/Ts to smoke you. But still has better torque in comparison to most economy cars including the next-gen Cavalier!

Acceleration greatly improved with shifting it manually.

Brakes were very good. Loved them.

Handling was horrible, but you knew that.

Comfort and ergonomics very good, much better than the next-gen Cavalier.

Takes lots of abuse, and that's saying a lot considering I was 17 and pretty immature when I drove it!

1990 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 3.1L V6 from North America

Summary:

Not a good car, what so ever.

Faults:

Transmission blew at 110,000 km.

Computer module blew 2x in 1 week, cost $1500 to fix it.

Engine threw a connecting rod at 115,000 km.

General Comments:

Well, when this car actually ran properly, it was a real smooth, fast and frisky ride. Unfortunately, I only owned it for about 4 months, and about half that time it sat in the repair shop. Talk about unreliable. Was the absolute worst car I've ever owned in my life. They may look sporty, but the reliability is not there. Before the engine blew, the car had over $3000 in repairs in less than 3 weeks. That's not very good, considering the car looked mint in and out, and had only 110,000 km (65,000 miles) on it. Never again will I buy a piece of junk from GM. EVER!

20th Jun 2002, 13:57

I own a 1990 z 24 and I have had no major problems with it. Besides the usual maintenance, (brake pads, regular oil changes, keeping fluids up, etc.) it runs like a dream. But one thing you must know when going into buying a sport car like a z 24, of any year, is the fairly good chance that the previous owner was a kid or someone that drove it to the ground and then sold it before it fell apart. So if you don't know much about vehicles and don't know what to look for when buying one, or you are not a good judge of how hard the car has been driven, stay away from it. Just don't go and complain that they are not good cars because you can't fix it yourself for cheap. They are good, if you can find one that has not been driven hard like mine. It took me 2 years to find mine but they are out there.

10th Jul 2005, 21:57

I also own a 1990 Chevy Cavalier and I have had no major problems with it. The usual maintenance and an ignition modulator, none of which were hard to fix. My car is my baby and is definitely one of the most reliable vehicles I have ever came across. I find it hard to believe that the problems you encountered were because of the car. I would have to agree with the previous comment that the former owner must not have taken good care of the car. I wouldn't base your theory about junk from GM on one car. GM is a very reputable company and I would not buy from any other company since owning this car.

29th Aug 2005, 15:03

I never had any problems with my '90 Z-24 and I drove it harder than any other car I have had including my two 5 liter Mustangs. Whoever had the car before you obviously didn't keep it up right and probably abused it way too much. You said your previous car was a Tempo, though, so you should be really used to problems!! Now THAT is a piece of junk!

23rd Apr 2001, 20:39

18th Sep 2002, 13:33

I just bought a 1990 chevy cavalier z24 and so far I've had it up on the ramps more than its been on the road, the radiators bad the water pump is bad the exhaust is bad and I'm just waiting to see what goes wrong with it next, but it looks nice.

1990 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 3.1 from North America

Summary:

A high performance bargain

Faults:

Car needed a new crank sensor, alternator, starter, fuel pump, fuel injection wires, the power door locks stopped working, car constantly leaked a small amount of oil which was seeping out of all the gaskets from the engine. Transmission hose line broke, antifreeze leaks.

General Comments:

I was very pleased with the power and performance of the car when something wasn't breaking on the car. If you want a cheap sports car this is the car for you. It can stay with almost anything in the take off.

4th Apr 2001, 22:15

27th Jul 2002, 19:38

I own a cavalier z24, 1990, and I love it. When I first got it, I have had a couple things go wrong with it, but what else do you expect from a car that is 12 years old. There was a couple oil leaks, and some stuff went wrong with my cooling system, needed to change out all the suspension parts, and I love it. I would recomend it to anyone, especially over a new one.